Brock Lesnar

The UFC has announced that it will hold a media conference call tomorrow afternoon to announce a new television deal with an unknown source.

I’m guessing that it could either be an extension with Spike TV or something new.

UFC President Dana White will apparently discuss the recent signing of former professional wrestler Brock Lesnar as well as the upcoming matchup between Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79. Lesnar, Liddell, and Silva are all expected to be on the call.

Both Sam Caplan and Dann Stupp are pointing out that the call begins at 4 PM EST, just a half hour before Randy Couture’s scheduled press conference at Xtreme Couture.

I got hit with an elbow early in the first round. In the second round the ref stopped the action so the doctor could look at the cut. The doctor said “How is your vision?” I said “There’s blood in my eye.” Yves Lavigne said, “If you say you can’t see he’ll stop the fight.” I said, “I can see, there’s no problem, I want to fight.” The doctor spread the cut open with his thumbs and said “I can see his skull, I’m stopping it.” I said “I want to continue” and looked at my cornerman.

My cornerman was staring at my cut and yelling “Why are you stopping the fight?”, “What are you doing?” His comments were directed at the referee, but because he was staring at me, I was confused. That is why I became so angry, because I did not quit, and I thought that he was accusing me of quitting. We sorted things out afterwards. That’s something that bothers me a lot after Ken Shamrock said that I was not injured on that show when I had a serious injury. I still take a lot of heat for that son of a bitches ignorant comments.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced the signing of former NCAA Champion and four-time All-American Brock Lesnar (1-0).

“I don’t think there are any other pro wrestlers that can make the transition to MMA, except for Brock Lesnar,” said White. “And if you look at his amateur wrestling credentials, his size, and what he’s done, this guy can end up being a force in the heavyweight division of the UFC.”

“If you want to go with the NFL of the fighting game, it’s the UFC, and it was an easy choice for me,” said Lesnar. “Obviously I don’t think I’m ready for a title shot right away, but I will be there, and I’m not gonna turn down any opponent because I’m here to prove myself. I’m not here to pick and choose my fights. I’ll fight whomever they want. I don’t make the fights; that’s not my job. I’ve got one job to do and that’s to fight.”

Lesnar made his mixed martial arts debut in June at K-1 Hero’s Dynamite!! USA defeating Min Soo Kim early in the first round of their heavyweight tilt. According to the article, the deal and opponent for Lesnar’s UFC debut will be announced in the near future.

While Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has already said as much, FiveOuncesOfPain.com can confirm that there is very little validity to the rumors that Ricardo Arona is close to finalizing a deal with the UFC.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com contacted a source close to Arona via e-mail and that source has indicated that he will be in Europe for the next 40 days, making a deal almost impossible to complete. Furthermore, Arona has made no mention to the source about the possibility of signing with the UFC.

MMAjunkie.com learned of the fight from a source close to the fighter, but Ken Pavia, Radev’s agent, said he couldn’t comment on the report or confirm that a deal was close to being signed.

- In a recent interview with FOX Sports, UFC President Dana White stated that he’s still confident he can sign Fedor and Brock Lesnar still isn’t officially with the UFC:

He also was very confident of signing Fedor Emelianenko, but felt it wouldn’t happen until after Emelianenko competes in a Russian sambo tournament in the fall. White said it was incorrect the story, claimed by Kurt Angle, that Brock Lesnar had signed with UFC. But he did hope to make the deal.

It’s interesting to note that Angle seems to actually want to sign with the promotion these days:

“God willing, the IFL and myself can make a deal,” Angle told FOXSports.com while attending the promotion’s team championship finale Thursday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. “The best fit for me right now as a pro wrestler who [works] about 120 times a year is the IFL.”

Angle stated that he would still need to acquire permission from TNA and train for about a year before being ready to step in the ring. Compared to the UFC and EliteXC, Angle has enjoyed the IFL’s different approach to things:

“The other organizations were pushing me for to fight right away for big money, bigger money than any other fighter has ever made,” Angle said. “But I think they were doing it for my name because I had a lot of exposure in WWE and TNA. When I talked to the IFL, it wasn’t like they came at me with the biggest contract, but they made a lot more sense.

“The IFL is giving me an opportunity to get my feet wet and train without affecting my job with TNA whatsoever. [The IFL] said they would be second priority and make sure TNA is happy all the time and they’ll take me when they can get me.”

One of Angle’s goals in going into the sport of MMA was to set up a fight with former pro wrestler Brock Lesnar. Angle now says that the chances of that happening are now almost gone since Lesnar has signed with the UFC:

“We figured we would make somebody a hell of a lot of money,” Angle said. “We were talking about it, but Brock jumped the gun and went to UFC right away and struck a deal. I don’t blame him. The kid honestly wants to do three or four fights and retire. He’s going to make that kind of money. I give him a lot of credit for that.

UFC President Dana White hosted a conference call earlier today in preparation for the upcoming UFC 75: Champion vs Champion event set to take place on September 8th from London, England. The fighters featured on the call were UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton Jackson, PRIDE Middleweight and Welterweight Champion Dan Henderson, Michael Bisping, and Matt Hamill through the use of an interpreter.

- Tony Bonello has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled bout against Jon Murphy at this Saturday’s ShoXC Elite Challenger Series event. A replacement opponent for Murphy has not yet been named.

- Cub Swanson says that he may not be competing in the WEC’s September 5th event now that Jens Pulver has bowed out of their bout with a knee injury:

“It’s fifty-fifty right now that I’ll fight in September,” said Swanson, a hot local talent on the San Diego circuit whose budding career could have surely benefited from the higher profile match-up with the former UFC lightweight champion.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Swanson. “I just finished training for a month in Big Bear and I’m in shape.”

Loretta Hunt of The Fight Network describes Swanson’s current situation as “the WEC placing him on standby.”

- MMA Weekly is reporting that yet another Korean news website is stating that Denis Kang has signed with K-1 Hero’s and that his first bout will be against Kazushi Sakuraba on September 17th.

A Korean website called “joynews.inews24.com” is reporting that Denis Kang has been signed by K-1’s Heroes to a lucrative 2-year contract.

Apparently, Kang’s management is citing the ability to continue to compete in Spirit MC, a Korean MMA promotion in which Kang is one of the biggest draws and holds a title, as the deciding factor in signing the contract with K-1 Heroes.

Korean news is also reporting that Kang’s debut is scheduled for September 17 against Kazushi Sakuraba. Neither Kang nor K-1 has yet confirmed this, however, and there is some speculation that Sakuraba may be injured.

The website does bring up two new points - Sakuraba’s possible injury and the fact that Kang would be free to still compete in Spirit MC, which happens to be holding a tournament right now to try and crown a number one contender for Kang’s heavyweight title in that promotion.

- UFC Junkie is reporting that Nate Mohr has been forced to pull out of his proposed bout with Jeremy Stephens at UFC 76. Mohr has apparently suffered a possible broken hand. Officials close to Stephens have stated that he has still been promised a spot on the card and that the UFC is currently searching for a replacement opponent. The UFC had yet to officially announce the Mohr-Stephens bout.

- UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture will be featured tonight in Spike TV’s special, “100% Natural”. Spike will air three programs featuring Couture in them: UFC Unleashed featuring Couture’s win over Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 at 10 PM, Countdown to UFC 74 at 11 PM, and then UFC All Access: Randy Couture at 12 AM.

De La Torre last competed at Total Fighting Alliance on August 11th in Santa Monica, Calif. He lost by TKO to Justin Schalk. De La Torre has been fined $500 and his suspension runs from the conclusion of the bout on August 11 through November 9, 2007.

Bivins tested positive following his most recent bout for Cage Combat on August 18th in Yuba City, Calif. He defeated Tyson Schoel by triangle choke. Bivins was also fined $500 and his suspension runs from the conclusion of the bout on August 18 through November 16, 20007.

Kim Winslow will officiate her first MMA fight under the NJSACB at Ring of Combat XV Friday, Sept. 7 at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, N.J. Promoted by Louis Neglia, the event will be televised on pay-per-view. Ring of Combat XV will feature preliminary fights in the Beasts of the Northeast Tournament.

Winslow, a Reno, Nev. resident, has refereed in an amateur capacity in several other jurisdictions, according to the NJSACB. The 39-year-old has shadowed pro referees at UFC and IFL shows. Winslow trained regularly in jiu-jitsu and Muay thai for several years at the Reno School of Combat.

- Last night on bodogFIGHT: Costa Rica Combat - Nick Thompson stopped Dustin Denes with strikes on the ground in the second round and Eddie Alvarez was victorious with a TKO win over Scott Henze by TKO.

- The rumors are true when it comes to Sherdog adding a third live radio show to it’s lineup. The Stephen Quadros Show will debut on Tuesday, June 12th at 3 PM EST.

- Showtime will replay selected bouts from K-1 Dynamite!! USA this Saturday night at 9 PM EST to precede the Antonio Tarver and Chad Dawson doubleheader started at 10 PM. Brock Lesnar’s MMA debut and the rematch between Royce Gracie and Kazushi Sakuraba will be shown in their entirety while highlights from the other fights on the card will be shown.

Lesnar was originally scheduled to face Hong Man Choi but the fight was scrapped after Choi failed to pass his medical tests put forth the California State Athletic Commission. Lesnar’s new opponent, Min Soo Kim, sports a MMA record of 2-5 with victories over the likes of Sean O’Haire and Yoshihisa Yamamoto. Kim’s five losses came to K-1’s best Siala “Mighty Mo” Siliga, Semmy Schilt, Don Frye, Ray Sefo, and Bob Sapp.

It was also noted that Marvin Eastman vs. Ray Sefo was been removed from the card. K-1 Dynamite!! USA is scheduled to take place June 2nd at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.